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Émile Nelligan
Émile Nelligan (December 24, 1879 - November 18, 1941) was a French-Canadian poet from Quebec. Life Nelligan was born in Montreal on Christmas Eve, 1879, at 602, rue de La Gauchetière . He was the oldest son of David Nelligan (who had arrived in Quebec from Dublin, Ireland at the age of 12). His mother was Émilie Amanda Hudon, from Rimouski, Quebec. He had 2 sisters, Eva and Gertrude. A precocious talent like Arthur Rimbaud, his earliest published poems were printed in Montreal when he was 16 years old. In 1899, Nelligan suffered a major psychotic breakdown from which he never recovered. He never had a chance to finish his earliest poetry work, which was to be entitled Le Récital des Anges according to his last notes. At the time, rumor and speculation was that he went insane because of the vast cultural and language differences between his mother and father; however, recent literary analysts and biographers think his difficulties might have been related to homosexuality. In 1903, his collected poems were published to great acclaim in Canada. He may not have been aware that he was counted among French Canada's greatest poets. On his passing in 1941, Émile Nelligan was interred in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec. Émile Nelligan is considered one of the greatest poets of French Canada. Writing Following his death, the public became increasingly interested in Nelligan. His incomplete work spawned a kind of romantic legend. He was first translated to English in 1960 by P.F. Widdows. In 1983, Fred Cogswell translated all his poems in The Complete Poems of Émile Nelligan. Nelligan was a follower of Symbolism, his poetry profoundly influenced by Octave Crémazie, Louis Fréchette, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Georges Rodenbach, Maurice Rollinat, and Edgar Allan Poe. ''Le Vaisseau d'Or'' ''Christ en Croix'' Je remarquais toujours ce grand Jésus de plâtre Dressé comme un pardon au seuil du vieux couvent, Échafaud solennel à geste noir, devant Lequel je me courbais, saintement idolâtre. Or, l'autre soir, à l'heure où le cri-cri folâtre, Par les prés assombris, le regard bleu rêvant, Récitant Eloa, les cheveux dans le vent, Comme il sied à l'Éphèbe esthétique et bellâtre, J'aperçus, adjoignant des débris de parois, Un gigantesque amas de lourde vieille croix Ed de plâtre écroulé parmi les primevères ; Et je restai là, morne, avec les yeux pensifs, Et j'entendais en moi des marteaux convulsifs Renfoncer les clous noirs des intimes Calvaires ! Translation by Konrad Bongard: The gypsum Jesus always stalled me in my steps Like a curse at the old convent door; Crouching meekly, I bend to exalt an idol Whose forgiveness I do not implore. Not long ago, at the crickets' hour, I roamed dim Meadows in a restful reverie Reciting 'Eloa', with my hair worn by the wind And no audience save for the trees. But now, as I lie with knees bent beneath Christ's scaffold, I see his crumbling mortar cross With its plaster buried in the roses, and am saddened -'' ''For if I listen close enough, I can almost hear The sound of coal-black nails being wrung in To his wrists, the savage piercing of Longinus' spear. Recognition Several schools and libraries of Quebec bear the name of Émile Nelligan. Hotel Nelligan is a 4-star hotel in Old Montreal at the corner of Rue St. Paul and Rue St. Sulpice. Since 1979, the rewards the author of a French-language poetry book written by a young poet in North America. On June 7, 2005, the Fondation Émile-Nelligan and the City of Montreal inaugurated a bust to his memory in the Carré Saint-Louis. There is also a monument to his memory in Quebec City. In popular culture The poetry of Nelligan inspired numerous music composers: *André Gagnon. Nelligan, Toronto: Disques SRC, 2005, 2 disks (Concert recorded at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of the Place des Arts in Montréal, on February 18 and 19 2005) *Gilbert Patenaude. Compagnons des Amériques : poètes québécois mis en musique, Montréal: Disques XXI, 2005, 1 disk *Jean Chatillon. Clair de lune sur les eaux du rêve, Bécancour: Éditions de l'Écureuil noir, 2001 (1 disk) *Jacques Hétu. Le tombeau de Nelligan : mouvement symphonique opus 52, Saint-Nicolas: Doberman-Yppan, 1995 (1 partition: 44 pages) *John Craton. '' Jardin sentimental : Cinq poèmes d’Émile Nelligan'', Bedford, Ind: Wolfhead Music, 2004, 18 pages. *André Gagnon and Claude Léveillée. Monique Leyrac chante Emile Nelligan, Verdun: Disques Mérite, 1991, 1 disk *André Gagnon. Nelligan : livret d'opéra, Montréal: Leméac, 1990, 90 pages (text by Michel Tremblay) *Jacques Hétu. Les abîmes du rêve : opus 36, Montréal: Sociéte nouvelle d'enregistrement, 1987, duration 30:21 *Richard G. Boucher. Anges maudits, veuillez m'aider! : cantate dramatique sur des poèmes d'Émile Nelligan, Montréal: Radio Canada international, 1981, duration 38 min. *Omer Létourneau. Violon de villanelle : choeur pour voix de femmes, Québec: Procure générale de musique enr., 1940 (1 partition: 8 pages) Publications In French *1903 - Émile Nelligan et son œuvre, Montréal: Beauchemin (Louis Dantin) online *1952 - Poésies complètes : 1896-1899, Montréal: Fides (Luc Lacourcière) *1966 - Poèmes choisis, Montréal: Fides (Eloi de Grandmont) *1980 - Poèmes choisis, Montréal: Fides (Roger Chamberland) *1982 - 31 Poèmes autographes : 2 carnets d'hôpital, 1938, Trois-Rivières: Forges *1991 - Le Récital des anges : 50 poèmes d'Émile Nelligan, Trois-Rivières: Forges (Claude Beausoleil) *1991 - Oeuvres complètes, Montréal: Fides, 2 volumes (Réjean Robidoux and Paul Wyczynski) *1991 - Poèmes autographes, Montréal: Fides, 1991, (Paul Wyczynski) *1995 - Poésie en version originale, Montréal: Triptyque (André Marquis) *1997 - Poèmes choisis : le récital de l'ange, Saint-Hippolyte: Noroît (Jocelyne Felx) *1998 - Poésies complètes, La Table Ronde: Paris, 1998 In English translation *''Selected Poems'' (translated by P.F. Widdows). Toronto: Ryerson, 1960; Toronto: Guernica Editions, 2005. *Fred Cogswell (1983). The Complete Poems of Émile Nelligan (translated & edited by Fred Cogswell). Montreal: Harvest House, 1983. ISBN 0887722180 See also *List of Canadian poets *Poets of other languages References *Jacques Michon. "Émile Nelligan Biography (1879–1941)", in Literature Reference: American Literature, English Literature, Classics & Modern Fiction, 2009 *Nina Milner. "Émile Nelligan (1879-1941)", in Canadian Poetry Archive, November 28, 2003 *Talbot, Emile (2002). Reading Nelligan, Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 221 p. ISBN 0-7735-2318-9 External links ;Poems *"Song of Wine" English translation by Fred Cogswell of "La Romance du Vin" *"Winter Evening" English translation of "Soir d'Hiver" *Collection of Nelligan's poetry French ;Books *Emile Nelligan at Amazon.com ;About *Emile Nelligan (19879-1941) at the Canadian Poetry Archive *Emile Nelligan (1879-1941) ;Etc. *Fondation Émile Nelligan French Category:1879 births Category:1941 deaths Category:Canadian poets Category:French-language poets Category:People from Montreal Category:Francophone Quebec people Category:Canadian writers in French Category:Quebec people of Irish descent Category:National Historic Persons of Canada Category:19th-century poets Category:Poets